10 Personality Traits Every Successful Entrepreneur Has

Jim
Price is a serial entrepreneur and business educator.
He’s launched and led several tech-enabled businesses, and
achieved successful exits through multiple company sales
and an IPO. For the past decade, Jim has also held a
faculty position at the University of Michigan’s Ross
School of Business, where he also serves as an Entrepreneur
in Residence at the Zell Lurie Institute for
Entrepreneurial Studies.

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Whether I'm out on the speaking circuit, working with startups,
back in Ann Arbor teaching MBAs, or just socializing in a coffee
shop, I'd say there's one question I'm hit with more than any
other.

It comes in different forms, but the essence of the question is
the same: "What does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?”

Over the years, my answer has evolved. But I’ve found myself
settling on ten traits that are shared in common by virtually
every truly successful entrepreneur I’ve met, observed or
studied. The true rock stars are all:

1. Passionate

You need to be driven by a clear sense of purpose and passion.
Typically, that passion comes from one of two sources: the topic
of the business, or the game of business-building itself.

Why do you need passion? Simply because you’re likely to be
working too hard, for too long, for too little pay with no
guarantee that it’ll work out… so you need to be motivated by
something intrinsic and not money-related.

2. Resilient

If you’re going to build a startup, you’ll need a spirit of
determination coupled with a high pain tolerance. You’ll need to
be willing and able to learn from your mistakes – to get knocked
down repeatedly, get up, dust yourself off, and move forward with
renewed motivation.

People will constantly tell you your baby’s ugly, that your
business won’t work. Now, you should listen carefully and be open
to constructive criticism. But after a while, having the door
slammed in your face repeatedly can be withering, and the best
entrepreneurs learn to feed off the negativity and actually gain
strength from it.

3. Self-Possessed

You need a strong sense of self. You can’t be threatened by being
surrounded by talented, driven people. To truly succeed, you’ll
need the self-confidence to surround yourself with people “who
don’t look like you”… that is, people with skills, background and
domain knowledge that complement your own. And check your ego at
the door: you shouldn’t be too proud to make coffee for the team,
empty the waste baskets, or do the bank runs.

4. Decisive

You’ll need to develop a comfort-level with uncertainly and
ambiguity. Entrepreneurs gather as much information as they can
in a short period of time, and then MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!! The
attitude is that it’s not going to be perfect… We only have 9% or
so of the data from which to base our decision… but if we wait to
have all the information, we’ll never get moving… and be mired in
indecision. (Big organizations are really good at this – the
mired thing – saying, We don’t have enough information, so let’s
continue to study… form a committee or a task force)

5. Fearless

On the sliding scale from “risk-averse” to “risk-seeking,” it
shouldn't surprise anyone that entrepreneurs tend to be closer to
the latter. But you don’t need to be a nut-case, the sort who
bungee-jumps without a helmet. Smart entrepreneurs develop an
intuitive ability to sniff out and mitigate startup business
risk. But you know you’re going to fall down, and feel
comfortable with that fact and that you’re going to learn from
your failures and adjust as you go.

6. Financially Prepared

You’ll need the right personal financial profile to make the
leap. This doesn’t mean that only the rich can be entrepreneurs.
But unless and until you’ve got the personal financial ‘runway’
(ability to go without a steady paycheck and subsidized benefits)
of at least 18 to 24 months (ideally longer), you might hold off
on quitting your day job.

Consider launching the startup as a side-business if that’s
possible, while continuing to work the 8-to-5 shift to cover the
bills. Or approach your boss about going part-time. Then, once
your business generating cash flow, you can dial back on your
hours, or submit your resignation and go full-time with your
startup.

7. Flexible

I challenge you to find an entrepreneur running a startup four or
more years old where that business doesn’t differ dramatically
from the vision sketched out in their original business plan. The
point is that the folks who stay on their feet are the ones who
stay flexible and adjust to new information and changing
circumstances.

8. Zoom Lens-Equipped

Can you ‘pan out’ to see a compelling big vision for your
business, then ‘zoom in’ and focus on near-term startup goals?
Successful entrepreneurs can facilely move back and forth between
these two views. They’re able to articulate the big picture,
while simultaneously managing and executing to the ‘zoom-in’
picture.

9. Able to Sell

Whether you’re a born extrovert or introvert, as a founder/CEO,
you’ll find yourself always selling. You’ll be selling your
vision to prospective partners and funding sources. You’ll be
selling prospective recruits on why they should quit their day
jobs and join this startup they’ve never heard of. You’ll be
selling your products and services (yes, you’ll probably be
personally closing at least the first few sales). You’ll be
selling your employees on why they should remain calm and stay
with the ship when the seas inevitably get rough.

You can’t delegate evangelism.

10. Balanced

You may not start out with a fool-proof gyroscope, but to survive
as an entrepreneur, you’ll need that strong sense of perspective.
How to maintain simple, clear focus. How to be at peace with, and
learn from, a failure. Understanding that not all battles are
worth winning, and when to walk away. Knowing that most in your
startup aren’t as entrepreneurial as you – that this may be a
very cool job for them, but it’s still a job. Knowing when to go
home and give your loved ones a hug. When to go for a run.